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Gender and health inequalities
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detailed overview of gender and health inequalities from a sociological perspective
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Gender and health inequalities.Sex and gender both affect health in interacting ways.
● Sex (biology – chromosomes, gonads, hormones, reproductive systems, external
genitalia) and gender (social factors – social relations, e.g. power between men and
women, gender roles, gender expectations, gender-related behaviours) – both affect
health and interact with each other.
● Sex is not necessarily binary – can be variation in testosterone / oestrogen levels etc.
men usually taller, but not always. Men aren’t always one way and women aren’t
always one way.
● Some health conditions only affect males, and some only affect women – prostate or
cervical cancer. Some both experience – heart disease, Parkinson’s, Tuberculosis,
HIV. – but some affect one gender more than others.
● Can’t ignore biology in health, can’t just think social. But it is about the interaction of
these.
● Power relations between genders can affect health – HIV in women in Africa,
women’s lack of control to protect themselves to practice safe sex. Social factors
come into play.
● Links to hegemonic masculinity.
● Inappropriate to see ‘biological sex’ and ‘social gender’ as binary categories which
map onto each other in a simple manner.
● Social relations of gender interact with the biological body to produce these patterns
of morbidity and mortality in different times and place.
● The biological body is not fixed, it can be response to gender norms and
expectations – HIV example.
Differences in in health status (morbidity).
● Focus on cisgendered people, it is binarized.
● Is neglect of transgender and non-binary identities – there is a few things, but not
much.
o Looking at health populations, data focuses on male or female.
Self-assessed health – is it good, very good, bad, very bad?
● (see slides) – 2017. England. Very good / good health: men 77% women 75%. Acute
sickness: men 12% women: 17%. Chronic pain: men 30% women 38%. ETC. overall,
more women on the negative side, not major differences.
Trends in longstanding illness, 1995-2015 (England, same survey).
● Women more than men again, women reporting slightly higher rates – see slide. Not
just 2017, but over time.
GP consultations – not necessarily ill, many reasons to go see GP. More consulting
behaviour.
● Women, all consultations – mostly highest.
● Women, excluding reproductive events, second highest.
● Then men.
o Women consulting more than men.
o Important to look at age differences.
Seeing higher illness rates for women, not massively but significant.
Are differences ‘real’ or ‘socially constructed’?
● SC – reflecting differences in the ways men and women think about, act on, and
report symptoms?
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